By Alex Figueroa Cancel
PUERTO RICO – The federal prosecutor’s office reported that, for the moment, it will not seek a second trial against Félix Verdejo for the charges in which a jury failed to agree in issuing a verdict against him on July 28.
Verdejo was found guilty on two of the four counts. that weighed against him: kidnapping and death of an unborn babyin relation to murder of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz.
While, the jury returned no verdict on the carjacking charges and in violation of the weapons law.
In a motion filed in federal court last Tuesday, prosecutors Jonathan Gottfried and Jeanette M. Collazo Ortiz indicated that they reserve the right to resubmit the complaints for carjacking and weapons, but not at the moment.
They stated that “while the public prosecutor does not intend to proceed with a second trial on charges one and three At this time, however, it expresses that it reserves the right to seek an indictment in the future with respect to the charges on which the jury did not agree.”
When a jury returns no verdict on a charge, the prosecution has the opportunity to seek a new trial for those specific allegationso.
In this case, the public prosecutor chose to request, in the motion, dismissing those two charges “without prejudice,” meaning they can be refiled.
Prosecutors explained that the move responds to “conserving time and resources that would be spent in a second trial,” at a time when Verdejo is already on his way to being sentenced to prison for the charges in which he was found guilty.
They also noted that such dismissal “may assist in a more expeditious decision on any appeal by the defendant.”
Sentencing is scheduled for November 3. in the courtroom of judge Pedro Delgado.
Keep reading:
Lawyers for former boxer Félix Verdejo request the acquittal of their client for the charges in which a federal jury in Puerto Rico found him guilty
Federal jury in Puerto Rico finds former boxer Félix Verdejo guilty on two counts in the murder case of Keishla Rodríguez
The brutal testimony of an alleged partner of Félix Verdejo in the murder of Keishla Rodríguez that marked the first phase of the trial against the ex-boxer in Puerto Rico
2023-08-31 15:29:31
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